The Delaware Health Care Commission has selected the University of Delaware College of Health Sciences (CHS) to design and facilitate a learning and re-learning curriculum for health care professionals.

It is part of the Delaware State Innovation Model, which is guided by the Delaware Center for Health Innovation (DCHI).

The successful grant application was spearheaded by Sarah LaFave, coordinator for service and experiential learning, and CHS Dean Kathleen Matt.

“Team-based care is how we achieve comprehensive coordinated care focused on the patient,” said Matt. “This curriculum is an exciting opportunity for health care providers to learn with and from each other, sharing challenges and best practices across disciplines. It's about every member of the health care team practicing at the top of their license and working together to achieve improved health outcomes.”

The curriculum, which launches this fall, will help health care providers strengthen competencies in – among other key areas – interprofessional practice, access to resources, care decisions and health information technology. It includes online and in-person components, including didactic lectures from subject experts and simulation exercises from the University’s Healthcare Theatre, a collaborative program of the Department of Theatre in the College of Arts and Sciences and CHS.

“With a focus on primary care, the bedrock of patient-centered health care delivery, this extensively collaborative effort has the potential to not only transform how patients receive care, but also their access to care and their health outcomes,” explained Barret Michalec, associate dean of interdisciplinary initiatives and interprofessional education for CHS, and associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. “Moreover, through effective implementation, we can reduce costs for health care delivery institutions and patients, enhance patient activation and improve patient-provider interactions.”

The UD team includes:

• Communication Science and Disorders: Aquiles Iglesias.

• School of Nursing: Emily Hauenstein, Amy Cowperthwait, Susan Conaty-Buck, Cynthia Diefenbeck.

• Behavioral Health and Nutrition: Michael Mackenzie.

• Dean’s Office: Sarah LaFave and Barret Michalec.

• Healthcare Theatre: Allan Carlsen.

• Physical Therapy: Ellen Wruble Hakim.

The college is also partnering with members of the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance, including leaders from Christiana Care and Nemours.